


Half the Time

by elvarv



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, will add more tags later
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 13:14:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29472288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elvarv/pseuds/elvarv
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 3





	Half the Time

The night rush caught March unaware. She had thought that calling for a taxi in advance would spare her from waiting alone in the dark, but here she was, alone in the middle of Brooklyn at night. Her friends were usually busy at this time enjoying a break from socializing. 

They had that in common, like an unspoken agreement to recharge their social battery but would compromise if someone was in great enough need. The only problem with that was that March couldn't very well explain why she was walking around alone on the streets without alarming them, and something told her not to tell them anyway. It was the same thing that made her leave her apartment to walk around in the first place. It was driving her crazy.

She sat down on the stairs of an eye doctor building, not minding the hard flat cement surface compared to letting her feet rest. March kept her head down every time a pedestrian strolled by, plastering the side of her body against the railing with only her shoes poking out of the shadow of the building. 

When the taxi came by at last, she got in without a pause, confirming her identity and sitting directly behind the driver. He spoke to her, telling her about his day and carrying on the conversation by himself. With a damned yearning, she glanced back at the street she just left and felt something in her stop. 

"Stop the car," March demanded breathlessly, the words flying out before she took a breath. Her hand automatically moved and hit against the driver's head cushion twice, repeating herself with more urgency. He pulled over, upset with her behavior and panicking when she pushed the door open and ran back down the street.

"Hey! Hey lady, you called for the taxi, you still gotta pay for the gas!" 

But his words didn't cause her to turn around with an apology like it usually did with other people. By the time he realized this, she turned a corner two blocks ahead. He grumbled to himself, resigning himself to wait until she came back and telling himself he'd get a hefty tip out of her for it.

Meanwhile, March was numb to the sensation of her heels hitting the pavement through her boots though she was complaining about them aching to herself mere minutes before. She knew she saw something, someone that her gut told her she had to meet. 

Her running pattered to a stop after a minute, seeing the tall man from before. He was grabbing his left wrist, like he was rubbing a sore spot, in a very casual stance. Though she stood behind him, she made no effort to conceal herself. He turned his head to the side, acknowledging her presence and silently asking what the hell she wanted. She exhaled once.

"....Hi," she said tentatively, raising a hand like he could see it. "Um, I would like to meet you, please. Could you turn around?"

"Who are you?" the man asked in a threatening, low voice. He did turn around, very quickly and fully. The shadows of the alley darkened his eyes, making them seem colorless, and everything else about him was also monotone. For the first time that evening, March let go of her naivety. She remembered leaving the taxi high and dry on the road and cringed, and finally she allowed her stranger-danger mentality to navigate the scene.

"Sorry, I..."

She didn't want to tell him about her gut instincts to walk by his side and stay close to him due to the current logic telling her to evacuate. At the same time, she didn't want to come off as an asshole who thought it would be entertaining to bother a stranger. He looked like he had a special way of dealing with assholes.

"I thought you were someone I knew. Kind of know. It's—it's my bad, I'm sorry."

She turned around and was practically running to retreat. The only thing stopping her from going full-speed was the thought that it could offend him and cause her more trouble.

"Hey!"

Her heart jumped and she booked it. March had no idea what she just did, but he sounded irritated and she was in an alleyway, for fuck's sake. Was it too much to hope that she could outrun him?

She tried to go back to the street she left the taxi on, but there was no sixth sense guiding her to it. The alleys split here and there to fit the irregular-sized brick buildings that looked so dull and indistinguishable. As if to mock her confusion, the man appeared in front of her on her right. She automatically moved away but he gripped her right arm and stared at her hard.

"I asked you a question. Who are you?"

"I'm nobo—fff—March! I'm March," she cried once he began crushing her arm. He softened his grip somewhat but did not let go. 

"I said I was sorry! I didn't mean to offend you or waste your time," she said defensively when he stayed silent. 'Please let go of me' stayed stuck in her throat. Did she want to appear meek? Did she want him to let go?

"March," he said instead of responding to anything she said. He looked her over swiftly like he was trying to find out more about her, and maybe why she approached him in the first place. "Don't take this personally, March."

Apprehension pulsed in her head, but immediately after that, he punched her on the side of her head and smoothly caught her unconscious body before it slumped to the ground.


End file.
